Reading 2/23

The part of the reading that caught my eye the most was at the start of chapter seventeen. Pollan says that "eating meat has become morally problematic." I personally would have to disagree with this, at least in my own experience. Maybe this was caused by the way I was raised or by my diet growing up, but I have never once examined the morals behind what I am about to eat for dinner. For this reason I would have to disagree with Pollan, since I do not see it as problematic at all. I also found it interesting how he brought up the question as to why this (the vegetarian movement) was starting to happen now. As he said, humans have been consuming meat throughout history, and until recently the morals of it had not been in question. He also talks about the double standards held by those that eat meat. He says that even people that eat meat object to hunting, because it involves the killing of an animal. However, any meat that they eat has somehow involved a killing. Either way, the goal of this chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma was to examine the most controversioal part of our American diets.

Reading 2/16

I found chapter eight of The Omnivore's Dilemma interesting starting with the title: Flesh is Grass. In this chapter, Pollan talks about his visit to the Polyface Farm, where chickens, cattle, and turkeys, among other animals as well as vegetables, are raised. Despite this, the owner of the ranch sees himself as a grass farmer instead of an animal farmer. This means that he tries to use his animals in everyway possible to boost the production of his pastures as much as possible. I found it especially interesting when he compares Salatin's farm to Naylor's farm, the ,man from earlier in the book. Although they may seem very similar, these two farms could not be more different. The differences range from the type of energy used to where the products are sold. This was interesting to me because I originally would have thought that these men were extremely similar, though obviously not exactly alike. He then goes back to talking about "organic" and what it really means. Pollan states that Salatin's farm is not organic in any sense of the word. It is however more sustainable than most farms out there. This too was interesting because I believe that many people think that organic and sustainable go hand in hand, when in truth, a farm can be just one or the other.

Reading 2/9

Chapters 4 and 5 of They Say I Say described how to respond to other's ideas. There are three ways to do this, according to the authors: agreeing, disagreeing, and agreeing while adding a few of your own ideas. The author says that it is imperative to state very quickly whether you agree or disagree with a quote, as to not leave the reader hanging. It should be the first thing stated, before you go into the details of your position. When disagreeing, he says that you need to not only state your position, but also give a valid reason why you disagree with the statement. If you don't do this, all you are doing is contradicting the author, leaving the reader confused as to who they should believe. Finally, he says that you cannot simply just agree with a statement, either. It is important to bring some of your own ideas to the statement, otherwise you may not appear as credible as you could. This is something that I believe many people could work on, including myself. Especially when I agree with a statement in my writing, I will just say that I agree, not necessarily stating any reasons why.

Paper Two Source Citation

Brandweek, 1/4/2010, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p 9-9, 1p

Reading 2/2

I found it interesting at the start of chapter nine how Pollan explains that the non-organic milk was actually more organic than the milk advertised as organic. He goes on to explain how organic foods is the fastest growing sector of the food industry today. While some companies advertise how their cows spend their dadys in lush, green pastures, Pollan explains that some organic dairies are completely opposite. He says that at many dairies, the cows are kept fenced in small pens, fed only grain, and milked three times a day. He also says that organic does not necessarily mean natural. He saw organic high fructose corn syrup and organic TV dinners. He also talks about free range chickens. Though it may seem that they spend their entire lives outside, they actually stay inside for their first 6 weeks, and then are slaughtered after just two weeks of the outdoor lifestyle. He also says that just because something is organic does not mean that it is better tasting or better for you. He says that non organic produce is bound to taste better because it might be more local than the organic produce. Even if it is healthier, it is still not that much of a difference.